How to Create a Healthy Home: A Practical Guide for Intentional Living

Everything has been figured out except how to live. 

Tired of living in a space that doesn’t feel built to support the life you are living – or the life you want to live? Despite the many Pinterest boards and New Year’s resolutions, you know deep down your home is not reflecting who you are.

We too realized this: most homes are assembled and stocked with products without personalization. These spaces leave us uninspired.

The Modern Consumer Behavior 

Our one-click shopping lives allow us to acquire hundreds of objects, but how many of these objects will be around in another 1 year? 5 years? Or 10 years? Are they still providing us the same joy that arrived when the package landed on your doorstep?

Like a relationship of any worth, investing in those that you know are durable and non-toxic is recommended.

It’s hard to tell the difference between a right swipe and a one-click these days. We are too abundant. Wayfair and Amazon whisper that we should forget the art of patience because the endorphin hit feels so much better, at least for the first 10 seconds.

But have you started to realize these purchases come as quickly into our lives as out of our lives? Much like we’ve commoditized relationships in dating apps, our 1-day shipping expectation has also led us to the addiction of disposability and replacement.

Hello landfill. Out of sight, out of mind. I haven’t seen a landfill, but I’ve heard it’s a problem.

If you’re tired of living the same consumer addiction as eating a McDonald’s french fry (hint: you will never be able to eat just one), it’s time to transform your lifestyle.

Introducing the Healthy Home Concept 

The Tribalist works with you to transform your living spaces into Healthy Homes.

What’s a Healthy Home? 

A Healthy Home isn’t a deep-cleaned apartment—it’s creating an environment for intentional and meaningful living. A space that nurtures your soul with objects that have utility toward who you are and who you are becoming.

We believe your home creates the foundation to build your physiological, psychological, financial, and spiritual needs. Let’s pause here to share that we’re not a cult—we’re a modern approach to creating homes that support our best selves.

We’re here to share actionable steps on re-evaluating your home's design and home organization methods by starting with your personal goals. If you like what you’re reading so far, in the coming weeks, we’ll release a longer Workbook with step-by-step instructions to help you put these concepts into practice. 

5 Steps to Create a Healthy Home 

We’re here to share actionable steps to re-evaluate your home's design and organization methods by starting with your personal goals. These steps will help you build a Healthy Home that reflects your values and goals.

Step 1: Define Your Goals and Priorities 

Think Ahead 

What are your goals this year? If you missed January 1, don’t worry—that’s an arbitrary deadline in the grand picture, so let’s start today.

Home organization and your goals go hand-in-hand.

Activity: Write down 2-7 goals for 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. Bonus points if you can tie them to specific numbers or dates.

Step 2: Identify Your "Must Do's" 

For each goal, identify key actions that must happen. These are your Must Do’s—the non-negotiable steps that will move you closer to your goals.

Examples: 

Practical Goal: Prepare home-cooked meals five days a week.

Must Do’s:

• Plan weekly meals every Sunday.
• Maintain a stocked pantry with healthy ingredients.
• Allocate 1 hour daily for meal preparation.
  

Step 3: Establish Supporting Routines 

Your Must Do’s should become frictionless routines that integrate into your daily life. Routines bring consistency and structure to your efforts, helping you stay on track.

Routine Design Template: 

• Activity: Weekly meal planning.
• Time: 1 hour every Sunday.
• Resources Needed: Recipe app, grocery list, calendar.
• Frequency: Weekly.
• Goal Supported: Prepare home-cooked meals five days a week.

Step 4: Design Your Home to Support Your Routines 

A Healthy Home is a machine for living, designed to support your goals and habits seamlessly. Analyze your living space to make routines effortless and fun. Incorporating sustainable home design principles can ensure these changes are long-lasting and eco-friendly.

Checklist for Routine Support:

• Accessibility: Are tools and resources easy to access?
• Frictionless Setup: Is the space organized for efficiency?
• Aesthetics: Does the space inspire you to stick to your routine?
  

Examples:

• Use pull-out shelves in bathroom vanities to easily access items.
• Install pull-down shelves to save space for less frequently used items like protein powders or wheat berries.
• Add pull-up shelves for key appliances like stand mixers to keep them accessible but out of the way.
  
  

Step 5: Evaluate and Continuously Improve 

Creating a Healthy Home is an ongoing process. Regularly review your routines, goals, and the effectiveness of your home design.

Reflection Questions: 

• Are the routines working as intended?
• Where are blockers showing up?
• Do new goals require updates to routines or spaces?
  

Action Plan:

Monthly: Reflect on progress toward each set of goals (3, 6, 12 months). Add a calendar meeting and invite yourself to this, just as you would an appointment with a professional.

An example of continuous improvement may be adding a glass lazy susan to your refrigerator.  The lazy susan keeps hard to reach items in the back of the fridge from getting forgotten resulting in food waste. Utilizing non-toxic products in such changes further enhances the overall healthiness of your space.